Bruins

Weighing the pros/cons of Bruins sending Matt Poitras to World Juniors

"This is quite an accomplishment for all young hockey players."

By Conor Ryan

December 18, 2023

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Bruins rookie center Matt Poitras is taking a break from NHL action for the next few weeks to play for his country.

The Bruins announced on Monday morning that they have assigned the 19-year-old forward to Team Canada for the upcoming 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship.

The annual junior tournament will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden from December 26, 2023 to January 5, 2024. Barring a sudden exit for Team Canada, Poitras will likely be away from the Bruins until at least Jan. 8, when Boston begins a four-game road trip in Denver.

“This is quite an accomplishment for all young hockey players — a chance to represent their country at one of the biggest stages,” Don Sweeney said of Poitras’ assignment. “Now it’s unique in the fact he’s playing in the NHL. So that’s the first thing that probably goes through anybody’s mind, is what’s the trade-off? 

“But there’s really no downside for him to go and represent and be a leader on that team and hopefully accomplish the ultimate goal as all young players certainly playing hockey get a chance to try and accomplish.”

Poitras was once considered a likely roster lock for the two-time defending WJC champions in Canada, especially after the playmaking pivot posted 95 points (16 goals, 79 assists) in just 63 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Guelph Storm last season.

But Poitras’ strong preseason in Boston and accelerated timeline to the NHL ranks led to the teenager leapfrogging AHL competition and joining the Bruins’ roster right out of the gate this fall.

Poitras has played in 27 games with the Bruins so far this season, scoring five goals and adding eight assists.

Let’s go through a few pros and cons of Boston setting up Poitras’ brief breather from NHL competition:

PRO: A confidence builder

Throughout his first foray against NHL competition, Poitras has drawn plenty of praise from Jim Montgomery for his ability to hold his own against the tougher competition and punishing play that presents itself time and time again.

But as is the case with any young player honing their craft at hockey’s highest level, staying afloat in the NHL ranks is often a sobering — and confidence-sapping — exercise.

A top-six stalwart for most of his career, Poitras has largely been shuffled into a middle-six role with Boston, averaging 14:06 of ice time per game. He’s been stapled to the bench during critical junctures of games this season, especially over sequences where Boston is protecting a one-goal lead. 

Of course, Montgomery’s usage of Poitras is well-intentioned, with Boston cognizant of not over-exerting a promising player who admittedly still has much to learn at this level of competition.

But after over two months of daunting matchups against established NHLers, Poitras could be in line for a much-needed lift against the level of competition found at the World Juniors.

Given his NHL pedigree and evident skill, Poitras is expected to be a featured player for Team Canada alongside the projected 2024 No. 1 overall pick (and Boston University Terrier) Macklin Celebrini.

Not only will Poitras benefit from heavy minutes (including power-play reps) on a featured international stage in the coming weeks, but he should also be able to dice up opposing defenses while battling against under-20 skaters. 

Despite hitting some expected bumps in the road from October-December, a strong showing in Sweden could give Poitras the expected boost he needs before returning for the second-half stretch with Boston.

“I think [this] gets him to have a chance mentally and physically to have a little bit of a reset, go against and play against your peer group,” Sweeney explained. “Now again, it’s high expectations and high-leverage pressure situations that he’s now been thrust into at the highest level you can possibly play at. He should handle that well.

“He should take those things that happened in our locker room and impart them on his new teammates and lead from the front and that’s what we’re hoping for. And he’ll come back and reinsert himself with us.”

CON: A taxing workload 

Poitras should be able to thrive at World Juniors given his elite playmaking ability. But 60 minutes of hockey is still draining, regardless of the competition.

And even though Montgomery and Co. have been vigilant in reducing Poitras’ workload with the Bruins over these last few weeks, the rookie is going to be very busy over in Sweden.

If Team Canada goes all the way to the Gold Medal game, Poitras is expected to play in seven games over the 11-day tournament.

It’d be a strenuous stretch for a young player already set to enter uncharted waters this winter as far as his minutes.

Poitras was scratched twice in Boston’s last five games due to load management, with Montgomery prescribing off days for the rookie to keep his legs fresh over the grind of an 82-game NHL season.

Poitras has never played more than 68 games in a single season before. And given his value to a Bruins roster still lacking in terms of offensive creativity and poise, Boston can’t afford to have him hit a wall in March or April.

“The league does get harder and he’s going through that for the first [time]. As much you want to talk to a player about that, you gotta go through it and live it,” Sweeney said.

“So it’s a steep learning curve, and he’s handled it really well. He comes back and in some of the games where he’s made a couple of boo-boos and hasn’t lost his conference, gone out and played, made the next play… He’s going through for the first time but he’s learning from each one of those experiences, trying to apply it and hopefully he’s a lot better off coming out the other side.”

Boston is hoping that a strong showing with Team Canada allows Poitras to catch a second wind in the middle of a long NHL season.

But fellow Bruins blue-chip prospect Fabian Lysell stands as a cautionary tale of how things can go awry at World Juniors. The 2021 first-round pick opened last season with 19 points in his first 20 games with Providence before joining Team Sweden at the 2023 tournament.

But after posting zero points over seven games in the tournament, Lysell ran out of steam the rest of the season — posting just 18 points over his 34 games with Providence.

Even if Poitras posts a stronger statline overseas, Boston must be vigilant in making sure its top rookie isn’t running on fumes.

CON: A loss in the bottom-six

Even if Poitras’ production has quieted as of late, his value in Boston’s middle-six grouping can’t be overlooked, especially on a Bruins team still lacking in terms of 5v5 offensive production.

Boston ranks 21st in the NHL in 5v5 goals this season with 59, with Poitras standing as a bright spot further down the lineup thanks to his passing ability and craftiness with the puck on his stick.

When pushed down to the bottom-six grouping, Poitras can elevate a segment of the forward corps that tends to rely on straight-line forechecking and less creativity to manufacture offense.

And even though Poitras doesn’t log heavy minutes on the power play, his knack for getting Boston on the man advantage is a welcome sight. Of the 557 NHLers with at least 200 minutes of 5v5 ice time logged this season, Poitras is 21st in penalties drawn per 60 minutes at 2.22.

Poitras will likely miss nine total games with the Bruins if Canada goes all the way to the final stage of the WJC. That extended time off may be worth it to the Bruins if it revitalizes Poitras, but his impact on the ice will certainly be missed.

PRO: Reinforcements on the way 

Even with Poitras’ absence, Boston’s center pipeline is set to get a boost with Pavel Zacha expected to return to the lineup in the days ahead. The 26-year-old forward has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury but will likely slot back into his regular role in the top-six unit.

As for Poitras’ vacancy in the bottom-six segment of the lineup, the strides of Morgan Geekie at the center spot give Boston a more-than-capable contingency plan at 3C. Since slotting in for Zacha down the middle on Dec. 9, Geekie is averaging 18:16 of ice time per game, posting four points (two goals, two assists) over four games.

“Getting somewhat healthy leading up to this decision was certainly part of the process and why we took this down to the wire to make our decision,” Sweeney said of Boston’s roster. “And hopefully we get Pav back this week and I agree, Geeks has played really well since he’s come back from his injury and that depth in the middle of the ice — Freddy has gone in and played there.

“So we feel a little more comfortable where we are right now and where we had been a couple of weeks ago.”